CG13 G is for Gauntlet
by Miz Em
Summary: Summer 2007 Alphabet challenge at the Numb3rs Forum. Sequel to U is for Una Salus Victus. AU, after Janus List.  This is the 13th in what will be a series of 26. Q is for Quagmire is the 1st. There will be no further updates to this piece.


Summer 2007 Alphabet challenge at the Numb3rs Forum. Sequel to U is for Una Salus Victus. AU, after Janus List. This is the 13th in what will be a series of 26. Q is for Quagmire is the 1st. There will be no further updates to this piece.

--

Che Lobo's limo dropped Luke and Colby off at _Les Trois Marches_, the gourmet restaurant that Luke favored.

"I don't think the restaurant's open for breakfast, Luke," Colby was puzzled but he was willing to let Luke take the lead.

Luke grinned, "Let's go round back."

They heard some shouting and pots and pans being slung around when they got there. Luke shook his head at the sounds and rang the bell.

To Colby's surprise, the shouting and clanging stopped. He heard footsteps, then someone opened the door and peered out at them. The rotund man in the chef's hat looked at them in open-mouthed astonishment, then pulled the door further open and waved them inside. He didn't ask any questions and disappeared, whereupon the shouting and clanging started back up again.

"I know the owners," Luke murmured, amused at the surprise in Colby's face.

"Apparently," Colby said dryly. "Hannah wondered how you managed to get takeout from this place." He ducked instinctively at a particularly loud crash.

Luke sighed, "I think that means the tantrum is over. Peace should reign now, for a short while at least."

Colby stared at him for a moment in silence, then his lips twitched. "Temperamental chef?"

"And then some," Luke said with feeling.

"Just who exactly owns this place?" Colby looked suspiciously at him.

Luke grinned again but didn't answer.

Still Colby thought he might have the answer when Luke produced a key to a door marked "Authorized Personnel Only". "Know the owners real well, huh?" Colby grinned when Luke rolled his eyes. "How come you have a key to the office but not a key to the back door?" He laughed when Luke ignored him completely and tried a different question. "What does _Les Trois Marches_ mean?"

"The three steps," Luke answered absently as he opened the safe in the back of the office and began to lay things out on the desk.

"The three steps to what?" Colby asked idly as he inspected the office.

"To success."

Interested now, Colby focused on Luke. "And what are those three steps?"

Luke stopped what he was doing and smiled, "Step number 1, Work Hard." He paused and eyed Colby for a second then grinned wickedly, "Step number 2, Work Hard."

Colby laughed, "And Step number 3, Work Hard?"

"You got it," Luke chuckled as he went back to what he was doing.

As he settled into an armchair across from Luke, Colby wondered how Luke got into the restaurant business. It was very obviously his, regardless of his evasive answer earlier. Colby grinned when he remembered that Steele had paid for Hannah's birthday dinner. So even being Luke's closest friend didn't mean Steele was entitled to a free meal.

"Alright, we're going to be Lucas and Colton Murdock, father and son. Here are keys to a sedan out back. Here are some blue contact lenses to change your eye color. We'll give you a crew cut. That should be enough to change your looks. Stay ramrod straight, like you've just got out of the army. You shouldn't have a problem with that. Let me get my disguise on, then we'll take pictures, put them in these driver's licenses."

"Who does the car belong to?" Colby asked with interest.

"Lucas Murdock, who did you think?" Luke rolled his eyes.

"With insurance papers and everything, I assume?" Colby chuckled when Luke didn't deign to answer him. He watched with fascination as Luke deftly streaked some grey into his hair, and added wrinkles to his face with some carefully placed latex protheses. A few liver spots on his face, arms and hands, and he looked a totally different person.

"Amazing," Colby murmured, startled even further when Luke tottered over to him for all the world like he'd aged thirty years.

"Turn around, son, I'm going to give you a haircut," Luke wheezed at him.

_All he changed was the rhythm and the breathing,_ Colby marveled as he complied, _and that had aged his voice._

Another thirty minutes and the transformation was complete for both of them. "We'll have to stop somewhere and buy some clothes," Luke muttered, poking at some clothes he had stashed away. "I don't have anything that fits you. Here take this." Luke handed Colby a wad of cash. "We can't use any of our own credit cards. And I just have one in Murdock's name. I hadn't expected to need this identity so soon."

Finally, they were ready to go. They saw the rotund chef again when they stepped out of the office. He frowned at them then shoved a bag of food into Luke's hands. He rattled something off in a language that Colby assumed was French, and stormed off.

"Merci, Pierre," Luke called after the retreating man. Pierre threw his hands up in the air and Luke laughed softly. "He's a good man, if temperamental."

"And an awesome chef," Colby said, his stomach growling at the delicious aroma floating from the bag in Luke's hands.

"Let's get to the house first, alright?" Luke looked amused at the disappointment in Colby's face.

"Oh, sweet," Colby murmured when they got to the car. He helped Luke maneuver in without opening his wound. It was an unobtrusive silver sedan, but it was obviously fully loaded with features. Colby relaxed with a sigh of pleasure when he got behind the wheel. "Where to, Pops?"

Chuckling, Luke gave him directions.

"We'll just rest a little before we go back out for supplies," Luke murmured when they finally got to the house.

Again, it was just a house, like all the other houses in the neighborhood, but Colby knew it would be top of the line when they got inside, but right now, the grayness in Luke's face was his biggest worry. The effort of getting into the disguise and getting to the house had taxed him greatly.

"I'll take care of the supplies, Luke," Colby told him gently, "You just rest."

Luke smiled faintly, "You couldn't possibly be trying to deprive me of Pierre's care package, could you?"

Colby laughed, "No. If you're up to it, we'll put the hurt on it." He was very relieved to see Luke regain some color in his face from the food and left him resting while he went to stock up on supplies.

--

Steele smiled wryly when he got to the office the next morning. _You'd think nothing happened the day before,_ he thought wryly. But he saw the strained looks on all their faces, especially Sherrod's, and he knew that it wasn't just another day for them either.

"All our uninjured agents are out investigating the collapse of their own cases instead of laying low," Sherrod said in exasperation.

Steele smiled; he hadn't expected any less from the men and women who worked for him. "They've taken the proper precautions, I assume?"

Sherrod nodded, relaxing a little when Steele didn't seem too upset. "And the ones in the hospital are clamoring for laptops so they can at least be doing some research." He looked anxiously at Steele, "I authorized most of them, and insisted on network connectivity for them. But the hospital authorities aren't very happy with me right now. I contacted Mr. Kaplan on your behalf and he provided me with authorization. The hospitals have ceased their complaints, at least for the time being."

"Thank you, Conrad," Steele looked gratefully at him. "You're worth your weight in gold."

Sherrod looked relieved, and left to handle other matters when Steele nodded and headed for his desk. Steele picked up the phone to call Kaplan himself. "Mr. Kaplan, it's Steele."

"Is everything under control then?" Kaplan asked.

"The attack seems to have stopped for now. We're regrouping and launching investigations of our own, if nothing else, to find out how each case was compromised. But that's not why I called. I have the remains from two very badly burned bodies. I understand there's an expert at the Jeffersonian Institute who sometimes helps the FBI with their cases. I need her to identify these two men. If nothing else, I need to know whether they are the men we think they are."

"It shouldn't be a problem, but I'll get back to you."

Steele looked up to see Sherrod hovering at his doorway. "Yes, Conrad?"

"I know we're still trying to identify their remains, but I brought their files out just in case you'd like to inform Fiona and Ms. Evans of the provisions that were made on their behalf."

The sadness in Sherrod's eyes touched Steele, and he replied softly, "Thank you. I don't think either lady is in dire need of funds, but I'll let them know they're available if they're needed."

Sherrod nodded and left.

Steele glanced quickly through the two wills. He wasn't surprised that Colby had left everything to Hannah, but Luke's codicil in Hannah's favor did surprise him. But somehow, he didn't think Fiona would object. Armed with that information, he headed to the hospital.

--

"Charlie."

Charlie blinked the sleep from his eyes. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Amita," he murmured sleepily. Then his eyes widened, "What are you doing in California? You're supposed to be at a conference in Boston!"

Amita shook her head reprovingly at him, "Megan called to tell us about the shooting. Millie and I took the next flight we could home. It took some juggling and she had to twist some arms at the airport, but here we are." She touched his arm gently, "Are you alright?"

"The doctors say it's just a flesh wound. I'll be discharged today. But my dad..." Charlie trailed off, his lips trembling at the memory of his father lying still in the hospital bed.

"I know," she said softly. "I stopped by with Millie before I came here. She's going to stay with him today while Don goes back to work."

Charlie pondered a moment, "I could use some help out at the park."

Amita flashed a brilliant smile, "I thought you'd never ask."

--

Sean was sitting up when Hannah got to his hospital room. She laughed softly at the sight of Melanie, a petite nurse, giving the tall man the a piece of her mind. But he only grinned unrepentantly at the nurse.

"Melanie, it's not like I'm walking out of the hospital. I need to get up and about, I have things to do."

"You're not fully recovered!" Melanie shook her head, but the beginnings of a smile showed that she was not immune to Sean's roguish charm.

"I'm a healthy, fit man, or was before I was shot. I should be able to bounce back from this more quickly than a professor, for crying out loud!" Sean seemed put out about it. Hannah wondered with amusement if Charlie and Larry had been discharged, causing him to kick up this fuss.

"You were shot three times, and infection set in," Melanie was exasperated, "It's not the same thing at all!"

Sean shrugged, "I'm sitting up. I might as well stay sitting up and get some work done."

Melanie threw up her hands and stormed out of the room muttering to herself.

"So I take it Charlie and Larry have been discharged," Hannah burst into delighted laughter at the disconcerted expression on Sean's face. She felt better for the laughter; it had been a lonely, difficult night for her.

"It's not that funny," he said grumpily and shifted into a more comfortable position. "Besides, I have to help with the investigation," he continued with dignity. He watched her as she began to straighten things out in his room. _She's really very beautiful when she laughs. I wish I was the one she lights up for,_ he thought wistfully. Then, startled, he wondered where that thought had come from. Ruthlessly, he pushed it out of his mind. She was Colby's woman and off limits to him.

"You look busy enough," Hannah said gently. "I'll come back later this evening with some real food, if you like."

Sean perked up at that. "Thanks, I'd really appreciate that. The food here is horrible. Some Irish whiskey would be fabulous too," he said wistfully.

She smiled, "Somehow, I don't think the doctors would approve of that." Hannah leaned over to straighten something up on the bed and plump up the pillows, bringing her close to Sean.

He swallowed hard when she brushed against him to get at the pillows. In an effort to regain his equilibrium, he took a deep breath, but only succeeded in inhaling her soft fragrance. He closed his eyes to savor the scent and the feel of her against him, then ruthlessly pushed it all out of his mind again.

"I'll see you later," Hannah was saying as she headed out the door. She smiled and waved as she left.

_This is not good,_ he thought in a panic. _Why is this happening? Why now?_ He looked up with relief when Steele showed up at the doorway a few minutes later.

"How's Mr. Eppes?" Sean asked quickly, when Steele raised a puzzled eyebrow. He wasn't sure what expression he had on his face but he wasn't prepared to answer any questions.

"Holding steady. The doctors are worried that there's no improvement but they've moved him out of intensive care. Charlie's been discharged and Don's gone home for a shower before we get started at FBI," Steele looked at Sean quizzically, but apparently decided not to question him. "Fiona's been discharged and she'll be starting her investigation in a few hours. She wants to run down the two men that she had contact with."

Sean nodded, "Alright. Is there someone you want me to link Corker to?"

"Yes," Steele said quietly, "White House Chief of Staff Leo Spencer."

Sean's eyebrows shot up with surprise. "Enemies in high places," he murmured, "We must have arrived."

"Or something," Steele said dryly. "But dig up what you can on Spencer. I have a very bad feeling about him."

"Will do." Sean was relieved when Steele left. He needed time to think and figure out a game plan. He had vowed to protect Hannah for Colby. But with his sudden new feelings for her, who was going to protect Hannah from him?

--

Charlie and Larry were holding forth in an FBI conference room when Steele got there. Each man had an arm in a sling, but that didn't seem to stop them at all. A lovely young woman was helping them with visual aids of what looked like the trajectories of the bullets that had hit them.

"Hey, Steele," Don greeted him as Steele came in to sit down. "This is Amita Ramanujan, a new professor at CalSci. She just got back from a conference and Charlie's already roped her into helping out."

Steele smiled a greeting but noted that she wasn't at all unwilling to be there. He would bet anything that there was something between the two young people.

"Charlie and Amita have proved my theories correct, Steele," Larry was saying. "And some video that was sent to Don verifies that our heads were indeed where we were later shot. It was fortuitous that Charles made the joke when he did. It caused us to react and present a less harmful target to the shooters."

"The reverse trajectories give us likely locations where the gunmen might have been," Amita spoke up. "Around this shaded area here. It's slightly higher than the chess tables, and the shrubs would provide good cover."

"That's excellent," Steele murmured. "Would you have those diagrams sent to Sean? He's a sniper and he'll be able to tell you more than I would about the accuracy of it."

"Oh, the numbers are correct," Charlie assured him.

Steele smiled, "I'm sure they are. Sean might be able to tell us how good these gunmen really were." He was amused when the young professor seemed mollified.

"If you'll give me an email address, I'll make sure your agent gets a copy of these," Amita told him. She smiled and thanked him when he handed her one of Sean's cards.

"Megan and I will head out there and see what we can find," David said. "Maybe they left something behind that will tell us more."

Megan could be heard murmuring something affectionate to Larry as she and David left to their appointed tasks. Don exchanged a smile with Steele over the personal conversation they overheard as the others also left. "They've helped us before. Sometimes, I'm not sure how we ever managed without them."

"We need to use expertise where we can get them," Steele told him about requesting help from the Jeffersonian to identify the remains in the antique store.

Don nodded, "I've heard of her, actually. An agent I know works with her a great deal." Don chuckled, "He'll never admit it, but he depends on her help to solve his cases."

Laughing softly, Steele asked, "Tough guy?"

"The toughest." Don's smile faded. "I need to find the guys who did this to my father."

"I understand," Steele said quietly. "And I know you'll prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. I just want to be able to trace them to the Mastermind."

"No problem there." Don met Steele's eyes. "That's quite a challenge he's issued."

"Yes," Steele replied calmly, "And I intend to meet it."

--

Colby was putting the groceries away when Luke came into the kitchen. A glance told him that Luke was feeling better. "How does that stuff work? That I can see the color in your face through it?"

Luke settled into a chair before he replied, "I guess it's just translucent. I've never really thought about it."

"It looks natural. Amazingly so."

"Please tell me you bought more than cereal and milk and frozen dinners," Luke looked worried when Colby put several boxes of cereal away.

Colby laughed, "Yes, I did. Relax. I bought fixings for lasagna. I help Hannah with it a good bit and I have the recipe memorized." Then his face clouded over at the thought of her and he turned away abruptly.

"We'll get through this," Luke said gently.

"I know." But Colby sighed. He missed her terribly and wondered how she was doing.

"I have a couple of computers set up in the back room. We can get started on our investigation there. We'll have to be careful and not trip any of Steele's hacker traps," Luke said to get Colby's thoughts back on the case.

"And I guess you know where they all are," Colby said dryly.

"You guess correctly," Luke was pleased to see the focus back in Colby's eyes. He saw Colby glance at the scarf in his hand and smiled sadly, "I can't stop thinking about Fiona either."

"We're a pair, aren't we?" Colby shook his head but helped Luke get to the back room.

"Alright, we'll start with these two jokers," Luke murmured as he pulled one of them up.

Colby watched him with amusement, "Does Steele know about this hideaway of yours?"

"Not this one, no," Luke smiled faintly. "He knows I have a few." He glanced up at Colby and said softly, "I'm sure you would have started to set up one or two yourself in a few years."

Colby nodded, he'd already been thinking about it. "Kind of goes with the territory, I take it."

"Yes," Luke murmured in reply. "I have one you and Hannah could use when we get back."

"If we ever get back," Colby said bitterly.

"We will," Luke told him firmly. "Now sit down and get to work."

With a reluctant smile, Colby sat and began to research the other man.

--

Steele's face was tight with anger when he walked into Sean's hospital room at the end of the day. It eased slightly when he saw Sean, Hannah and Fiona tearing into some pizza. "I can tell that didn't come from the hospital," he said, amused.

"Hannah and Fiona brought it," Sean said around a mouthful.

Fiona laughed, "He's been eating like he's never had food before."

"You haven't been here as long as I have," Sean told her with disdain.

Steele chuckled and accepted a piece from Hannah. He was pleased that both Fiona and Hannah looked in better spirits.

"What's wrong?" Sean asked, after he swallowed his last mouthful.

Sighing, Steele replied, "I have to head back to Washington in the morning. The President wants to see me. Apparently Spencer has been kicking up a fuss, and wants some answers. Kaplan says he put Spencer off as long as he could but I'll still have to be there tomorrow."

"I've tied Corker to Spencer," Sean told him. He was pleased to see Steele brighten. "He's a huge contributor to Spencer's political campaign. I've got records where Spencer has spent several weeks at the Shenandoah Skeet and Hunt Club. I'm trying to see if he's made it on the human hunt lists."

"Send what you have to my blackberry," Steele could barely suppress his excitement. It wasn't enough to put the man away, but it was certainly enough to discredit him and keep him off the DDFS's back while they continued with the investigation.

"Paul Escalante stopped by to see me," Sean told Steele who perked up at the news.

"Really? What did he have to say?"

"Apparently his brother warned him that the word on the street was an all out war was about to break out. He didn't say on whom, but Paul figured it was the DDFS or his brother wouldn't have told him anything. He and some other agents working several cases in the same area were hit by gangs. They're investigating the gangs now, and he'll get together with you to discuss it when they have a little more."

Steele frowned as he tried to reconcile that with Corker.

"We got some intel from Luchenko that the KGB was used in some of the attacks. We're trying to trace which ones," Fiona told Steele. "He's given us a little to go on. I have someone checking with Dranovsky to see if he's heard anything."

Staring incredulously at Fiona, he muttered, "KGB as well? Someone must be calling in some massive favors."

They pondered the extent of the conspiracy in silence for a moment.

Then Steele decided to tell them about his plans for identifying the two bodies in the antique store. "We've sent the remains from the antique store to the Jeffersonian Institute, along with Luke's and Colby's dental and medical records. It'll be several days before we get any sort of results, but the lady at the Jeffersonian is reputed to be the very best."

"I've heard of her," Fiona murmured. The reminder had saddened her a little, but she now had hopes that Luke might still be alive.

"Thank you for pursuing this," Hannah said shyly. "I had doubts last night, about whether or not I could really tell if Colby was still alive. But I believe in him, and I just can't give up until I know for sure."

"If you have family you'd rather be with," Sean began to say, but Hannah shook her head, smiling gently.

"I feel better here with all of you," she told them. "It keeps me close to Colby." She smiled at Sean, "You make me laugh and I feel better for it. I feel safer too, when I'm here with you."

Sean shoved a piece of pizza in his mouth to hide the fact that he had to swallow a huge lump in his throat. _I'll always be there for you, Hannah. Even when Colby gets back safe and sound, as I'm quite positive he will._ Sean thought a little sadly. He wanted her to be happy, even if it meant she would be back in Colby's arms.

Steele cleared his throat and said softly, "It might be premature but I should tell you that Colby left you everything, Hannah." He raised his hand when she started to protest. "I just wanted you to know that in case you need it." Glad she didn't continue to protest he turned to Fiona, "Luke did the same, he left you almost everything, except for about fifteen percent which will go to Hannah." He was glad that he had gauged Fiona correctly. It didn't seem to bother her that Luke had made provisions for Hannah.

"I couldn't possibly..." Hannah protested, but Fiona stopped her.

"He loved you for being so willing to accept him, Hannah. Let him do this," Fiona hugged her. "Please."

"But what if you need it?" Hannah couldn't let it be.

"I should tell you," Steele murmured, "that the fifteen percent that Luke left you comes to far more than everything Colby left you. Fiona won't want for anything." He smiled at the startled look on the two women's faces. He knew they didn't know. "He is," he swallowed and amended his sentence, "was a very shrewd businessman."

There was a moment of silence, then Hannah began to shake her head again. "I can't believe I'm listening to you like this. They're still alive, and talking about wills and provisions makes it seem like I'm giving up. And I'm not giving up," she said adamantly, "I know they're alive, I just know it!"

Startled by her vehemence, Steele tried to placate her, "I'm sorry I brought it up. I didn't mean to imply anything. I just wanted you to know it was there, should you need it." He trailed off, aware that he wasn't making things better. He shook his head, "We'll just wait till the results come back from the Jeffersonian Institute." He looked down at his piece of pizza, saddened that he'd destroyed the buoyant mood they'd had before he joined him.

"It's alright, Steele," Fiona said gently. "We know you mean well. Things will turn out alright. I believe in Luke."

--

"These two were bad boys," Colby leaned back and stretched after several hours of research online.

"Looks like it," Luke said thoughtfully. "Did you get any sort of link to Kannin or anyone involved with government?"

"No, but I did get a link to my good friend Dwayne," Colby said dryly.

"Dwayne Carter?" Luke looked surprised. "Didn't you put him in jail?"

"That's one way to put it," Colby rolled his eyes. "Except I ended up in jail as well. Steele had to bail me out."

Luke chuckled, "Misfired, did it?"

"Something like that. Anyway, they were in the same unit with Dwayne, after I left Afghanistan. They're connected to the Chinese in some way, but I'm not sure how we'll go about verifying that from here." Colby looked at Luke thoughtfully. "I wonder if we can hook up with Wendy Lee, the Chinese double agent that replaced Dwayne?"

"Give it a shot. We'll bug her place, see what we can get out of it." Then Luke grinned, "Meanwhile, we'll sneak into the DDFS computers to see what they've got on the Chinese."

Colby laughed at the glee in Luke's eyes, and watched over his shoulder while he did just that.

--

"Steele," President Warren Andrews greeted him as he entered the Oval Office.

"Mr. President," Steele returned the greeting cautiously. He nodded a greeting to Deputy Chief of Staff Bryan Kaplan. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"We'll get to that soon enough," Warren told him. "But first, tell me how things are with the DDFS."

"Luckily for us, we're a small agency. We sustained a large number of injuries, many of which are serious, but by and large, we were lucky to escape with a relatively small number of losses." Steele swallowed hard when he said that last sentence. It was a small number, in the scheme of things, but it had not been insignificant by any means.

Warren shook his head, "I've been checking the status board, and I'm glad so many are safe. But have you discovered who was behind these attacks?"

"Not yet, sir, but I have an idea. If I may be so bold, sir, why isn't the Chief of Staff here?" Steele asked curiously.

"Because he is part of the reason your presence was requested," Warren told him gravely. "He has encouraged the Intelligence Reform committee to push forward the hearing on the DDFS. You have a few days to pull together a defense of your agents' actions."

"So quickly," Steele murmured. "I can't say I'm surprised though." He gazed in the President's eyes and decided to trust him. "I have reason to believe that the White House Chief of Staff Leo Spencer is behind the attacks on the DDFS." Steele noted that Kaplan didn't seem surprised, but the President was horrified.

"Do you have evidence of this?" Warren demanded.

"Not as much as I would like," Steele admitted. "The investigation has barely begun. But I have to believe the timing of the Intelligence Reform hearing was moved to impede the progress of my investigation. I do have information that links him to one Richard Corker, who was responsible for the human hunt club that we recently broke up." Steele's eyes gleamed as he thought of something. "With your sanction, sir, I'd like to throw down the gauntlet. Let me arrest him for conspiracy against a government agency, and we'll find out how far this goes."

Aghast that a member of his staff would stoop to tactics that would precipitate such loss of life, the President agreed to the sanction. He issued a statement to oust the Chief of Staff from office, and named Bryan Kaplan to the post. Then sat back to watch the move reverberate through Washington.

--

Spencer slammed his suitcase shut in fury. The move to oust him had been one he had not anticipated. "Score one for Steele, but it's not over till the fat lady sings," he thought to himself. A calculating smile spread over his face. "We'll see how well you handle the situations that I've put in motion."

Impressed by his own brilliance, he preened at his reflection in the mirror, before fleeing his apartment in Washington to go into hiding.

--

A/N: I have no idea if the President can just summarily dismiss his Chief of Staff, even if he's the one to hire him. I'm sure there's some due process around it. Nevertheless, it works for the story. :-)

Thanks for staying with me while I set the stage for the next act. ;-)


End file.
